Thursday, September 1, 2016

Play everyday: my "collage a day" sketchbook.

I believe that every effort you make toward your curiosities
is a step closer to your truest voice. Sure, you want to do work you like but
staying focused on play and curiosity means staying focused on learning.
Little kids know this so well, they know that making a mess leads you into
uncharted territory. But what makes it hard is that you have to take scrutiny
and analysis completely out of the picture when you play. When you practice
letting the intuitive-self lead you everyday, you practice how to trust
yourself, regardless of you own opinions. We forget that the process is much
more important than outcome. That’s probably why kids art usually feels so
fresh, it’s all about the process.

Daily creative practice is also a reminder that every step
you take leads you to learn something about yourself— something you didn’t know
was there. For example, when I collage I usually have to force myself to paste
the first few papers down. I can spend a lot of time just moving things around. It
occurred to me at some point that to “get it down” is kind of the process of
any art making. Making the choices and standing by those choices is what gets
you there. It takes courage to stand by your choices and we need to recognize
that aspect as well.

This brings me to the “letting go” part of it. I know I can
get so caught up in a “this piece sucks” mentality. Every time I would post
anything I would get so nervous, the inner critic would pipe up and tell me
“think again”. I still get nervous posting but forcing myself to share with
others has helped me feel like I’m putting myself out there in the world, and
that seems key to growing as an artist.

Finally there is the fact that a journal is really a journey. You can look back and see
your story in those pages. Whether you like it or not, you have a wonderful
documentation of your process, another way to learn about yourself, just like
re reading an old journal.

Here’s some tips I complied on doing a daily practice of play.

This
could be for anything, not just drawing or collage, what ever you're curious
about.

-Set up some loose ground rules to start. Maybe it’s a time
limit. I do 30 to 45 min. If you have only just a bit of free time, 10 min is fine. Don’t get caught
up in the rules though. If you want to give it structure, go ahead but be open
to adjust it.

- I prefer one designated sketchbook for my
daily practice but you can also use a folder to put every piece you do in,
if you prefer. Don’tlet the book
or organizing principle discourage you either.

- It's all good. Stay focused on having fun, not if
it’s good or bad etc. remember, that's the inner critic talkin'.

- Get inspiration from
seeing what other have done. Tell yourself, if they can do it, I can do it my
way. But be careful to not get caught in the spiral of worry about being as
good as someone else. It’s normal to feel that way but just stay focused on the
play. Look at what inspires you and start from there some days. Ask yourself
details about what you like about the piece. Is it the colors, the textures, composition
and so on. Find out why you love it and use that to launch you into a piece.

-Keep an ongoing list of your fascinations. I have a bunch
of post it notes near my desk with things that I want to explore and lists of
topics. It really helps me when I’m low on ideas. I just look up and pick
something Sometimes I pick a specific theme and just keep going from there, making it a series of many pages.

- Sometimes I see something in my minds eye and just want to see how that might translate in a sketch so I keep a specific sketchbook to jot down idea. Most of the time I just pick a paper and start making the image I have in mind.

- Have your
materials handy. If you need to spend a lot of time setting things up that will
bite into your time to create, just keep that in mind.

- Explore materials too. OK, so I just said to try and stick
with materials you have set up but now I’m saying the opposite. Just try new
stuff. Experimentation is the name of the game. Especially if you’re burned out
and bored. That’s the best way to kick start things again.

-Try a few ways of working. Some days I just play with
abstract color pallets and some days with more figurative things. When I play with
color palettes I just pick a few colors I want to try to use that day. For me,
It feels easier to just be abstract so on days I’m low on energy I try to stick with abstraction. Just consider how you feel each day energywise/mood
wise. That will play a factor.

- Be open to change you mind. For example, If you set your
self up to do a collage and then see something else you like, just be open to
switch directions. I often find myself doing that kind of thing.

- Time off. If you need a break just post a little do dad or
just something that is quick. When I go away I just take my glue stick and
scissors/exacto with me. I usually like to find my collage material when I get
there. Be open to let it lead you when you travel as well.

- Feel good about it. For me it's like going to yoga class. At the end of the class my teacher always says “now thank yourself for giving
yourself the time to practice today”. It’s always a good thing, you never feel
bad that you worked out right?